Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Advent is a time of hope, of expectation, of waiting for the Lord. St. Paul told us last week to endure the weaknesses of the others; bear them, put up with them, don’t gossip about them. It is better to build him up, and to build up the community rather than getting annoyed with the idiosyncrasies of the others.
Paul also told us to welcome everyone, and accept them as they are without trying to change them, especially those close to us. You and I are attracted to people and places where we can go and are fully accepted, unconditionally. God designed us this way. Our parish should be like this. Make the effort to welcome others, sincerely and unconditionally. Also have one or more people in mind that you will invite for Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. We have a special invitation card that you can use for this.
This week we look at the Letter of James which is not a letter to any particular community but to all Christians; it is similar to a group email. And what does he tell us? “Be patient, brothers and sisters, until the coming of the Lord.” To grow in hope which is what God wants for us we need patience. It is fundamental that you and I be patient. Any construction project in a parish or in your home requires a lot of patience. Raising small children or helping with grandchildren and getting them to bed early requires a great deal of patience.
St. James says the farmer needs to be patient for rain. He needs to plant and fertilize and get everything ready, and then he has to wait for rain. There is no way he can rush it. There is a right time to speak to your boss, or a best time to close a deal at work, or to give a relationship time and not try to rush it, or the steady discipline of study rather than cramming at the last minute, or the better time to ask your parents for something rather than nagging them.
The second type of patience when you are waiting to see the fruit of what you did requires prayer. You spoke to your boss and now you are waiting for his response. You started a new project and now you need to give it time to see if it works; you put an offer in for a house or a new piece of business and you have to wait.
James tells us, “Do not complain, brothers and sisters.” This is a sign of impatience. Check yourself when you start to complain about someone. Maybe the first step is to learn to say nothing, and then in time say something positive to him/her. Complaints rob us of joy and God wants us to be full of joyful hope.
John the Baptist is willing to wait without end for God to act. He has an eagerness to wait that can only be motivated by his trust that God will keep his word and the thrill of how marvelous the promise will be when it is fulfilled. John’s very fiber is oriented to serving someone greater than himself. Should ‘we’ wait for another or are you the one? He reduces himself to be just one in a group of disciples. He is humble.
He knows that Jesus is the Messiah and the list of six nouns (the blind, the lame, lepers, the deaf, the dead, and the poor) is proof that He has come. He is a Messiah that heals, not judges. He comes today to cure those who are spiritually blind, lame and deaf: you and me. Open yourselves to him this week; he is knocking at your door.